Russkiy malchik’ – the hero of contemporary Russian literature Cover Image

„Russkij malczik” – bohater współczesnej literatury rosyjskiej
Russkiy malchik’ – the hero of contemporary Russian literature

Author(s): Emilia Borkowska
Subject(s): Literary Texts
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Russian contemporary literature; new hero; identity; crisis; post-soviet culture

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to present certain processes in contemporary Russian literature and the new hero of this literature. Russia literature after the collapse of the Soviet Union changed its position in the post-soviet culture. This was the result of cultural changes in this area. Some Russian critics noticed that a crisis in Russian literature had started at the beginning of 90’s. Although Russian literature moved from the centre to the periphery of culture, this is, however, not crisis literature. It is literature that exists in times of crisis and with a new point of view describing the surrounding world. ‘Russkiy malchik’ – the new hero of Russian literature searches for his identity in a world that has changed unpredictably. He appears in the novels and dramas of present day Russian writers: postmodernist Victor Pelevin, realist Zahkar Prilepin and sentimentalist Evgeniy Grishkovec. These writers present different styles, generations and literary genres but their heroes are prone to the same problem: How to exist in a reality that they do not understand or accept.

  • Issue Year: 2013
  • Issue No: 02
  • Page Range: 44-52
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Polish